Yamaha’s RX-V471 is more than just a budget 5.1 AV receiver with 3D-friendly HDMIs. It represents something of a reboot for the celebrated hi-fi brand. Despite having a heritage with AV that can be traced back to the very first surround sound decoder, the past few years have seen the company floundering. For some reason it just …

ahh yammy...

2 years ago i replaced my beloved yammy with a denon 1910. i went with denon as yammy had dropped in quality but i have to say i miss it. it just sounded better than the denon. the DSP modes were much better, the 5.1 stereo sounded better than the denon. the Compressed Music Enhancer sounds better for MP3s. i just needed HDMI for blu-ray and trueHD sound etc

im now thinking of swapping back but im not sure the yammy now has enough inputs for my need

we tend to use the ps3 for streaming mp3s from NAS box as my son loves watching the globe screensaver it uses. its a shame there is no NAS ethernet/wireless capabilities :(

I'm sorry, but can we stop using airy-fairy words like "polite" when talking about audio, as an engineer it depresses me when I see the use of audiophile phrasing instead of clear definitive descriptions like "distorted", "non-linear", "lacking bass response" and I will accept "clean" to mean undistorted, but not "tidy" to mean anything other than for functional elements.

Why? Because

you may have a Sonos or Squeezebox player connected to it. Both have digital outputs, so if you want to be digital until the AV receiver, it should be able to decode the format. If it can't you have to use the analogue outputs instead. FLAC is becoming common now so any new receiver worth its salt should support it (IMHO).

I don't think it makes any sense for a receiver to be able to decode different audio (or video) formats unless you also want it to be a media streamer. To my mind that's currently a step too far. Receivers should accept standard input streams. Let the device sending them that stream handle any format specific decoding.

I was just about to post something similar, I bought a 509 a couple of months ago and it sounds like a much better buy due to more connections and the network link. And it's the same price as this one.

No idea what I want out of current crop

Radio

This looks seriously good value.

I've got an old grunter Cambridge Audio Azur 540R which I've been looking to replace for a few years now. I was thinking I would end up having to spend >£500 even for a non-audio-tart receiver. Looks like we might have a winner here though!

Regarding DAB... I'm not so bothered any more. The future of radio is analogue (hopefully) co-existing with internet radio and Freeview radio, completely skipping DAB.

Analogue will keep winning for me until someone creates a pocket-sized DAB radio that can get Test Match Special and last an entire Australia Ashes test series on a single pair of AA batteries!

And Analogue keeps winning in my flat anyway because DAB just sounds like someone drowning.

But while I'm thinking about it, internet radios. Are there any that let you connect to streams on your wireless network?

What I'd quite like to do is be able to cue up a playlist on my HTPC, then just connect to that stream with a WiFi radio. I already stream music through VLC but to have a receiver that's not a full-on computer would be really ace.

I just wish there was a standard way of tuning in to internet radio and standard codecs. That might all exist already, never really looked into it. DNS SRV records would be perfect for this as you could just tune in to 6music@bbc.co.uk, then the stream server is located through DNS.

"I just wish there was a standard way of tuning in to internet radio and standard codecs. That might all exist already, never really looked into it. DNS SRV records would be perfect for this as you could just tune in to 6music@bbc.co.uk, then the stream server is located through DNS."

Simply not enough I/O...

A good receiver shouldn't have that many square inches of empty panel space on the back. It should be at least 50% connectors (by area) on the back, preferrabley 75+%. I've seen some that were nearly 100%, but I can't afford them.

Uhm, paid 399 Euro for a simmilar model...

But the 40 quid more expensive model is a 7.1 one with one 7.1 analog input (important if you want to connect a PC) as well as a phono input. So 300 quid for a considerably less useful model doesn't seem to be good value.

However the software seems to be the same, and I have to say, it actually works on my model. It's even able to communicate with my Turkish (Grundig) television set, so when I select its tuner, the receiver will automatically switch its input to it.

And another point

The automatic alignment with that microphone only seems to detect level differences and the distance to the speakers. No attempt to measure the frequency response is made. However you have parametric equalisers so you can do that manually.

Good beginner amp?

This is a bit rich for my tastes. I just want a surround system into which I can connect a PC, Sky box, Xbox 360 and maybe a Wii (though not too bothered about the last one). What's a good basic setup that won't be too expensive? I am not a discerning listener so amazing sound quality isn't a bother.

I have better model - RX-V667...

...and a few days ago I bough a stereo amplifier based on Tripath 2020 chip for 50 euros. And all I can say that I will no longer be able to listen to music on that Yamaha. Tripath amp simply rocks, I couldn't believe that such difference is even possible between those amplifiers. The difference is HUGE, it is even more huge when you take into account that Yamaha is connected to much better speakers (Monitor Audio BX5) and Tripath is connected to cheap Eltax Universe (also floor speakers).

Re: Tripath 2020

xx67 range worth a look..

Honestly, if you search around, you'll see that the previous range, the xx67 models are on seriously deep discount. All of the higher end models (1067 and above) have improved design, better amplification and better quality components.

I picked up the 2067 for £600 - a model that originally sold for over £1000. It's got loads of network functions, including streaming from NAS or other DLNA sources and internet radio, and also an idevice app to control it. It's got 7 HDMI inputs, and 2 outputs, 7 channels of 130w output, and it just sounds much better than the rxv765 I replaced - From the bass to the high end, theres more detail and power.